April 7, 2021

CKC's Kopczynski is new ACI president

Kopczynski

Cary Kopczynski, founding principal of Bellevue-based structural engineering firm CKC, was recently elected as the 2021-2022 president of the American Concrete Institute, the firm said in a press release.

The nonprofit association has 30,000 members in over 100 countries and develops technical information for concrete design and construction, including the structural concrete building code. ACI's building code is adopted by law in all 50 states and used in over 60 countries. CKC said Kopczynski will continue to facilitate and advance this global industry leadership by strengthening relationships with key ACI partners.

ACI addresses all facets of concrete design, production, placement and testing. Based in Detroit, its staff of over 120 includes engineers, technical editors, software programmers, marketing specialists and educational content developers. ACI also maintains a regional office in Dubai, UAE, and a resource center in San Bernardino, California.

Kopczynski aims to open a second resource center in Chicago in the coming months — this one to also offer on-demand access to all ACI certification programs, as well as hands-on training and educational offerings for concrete contractors, inspectors and engineers.

Kopczynski said concrete is the most widely used building material in the world.

“It can be cast into any shape conceivable, designed to have astonishing strength, and its constituent materials are available nearly everywhere,” he said.

Although concrete has come under criticism in recent years for its carbon footprint – between 7% and 10% of the world's carbon emissions are estimated to come from the concrete industry — that problem is being addressed head-on, he said.

“The concrete industry is well aware of the sustainability challenges it faces and has many smart people working on solutions,” he said. “We are already making major improvements and expect this progress to continue in coming years.”

The institute also recently announced the opening of NEx: An ACI Center of Excellence for Nonmetallic Building Materials, in partnership with Aramco, the global energy and chemicals company. The center will be a catalyst for global collaboration on the use of nonmetallic building materials in research, education, standards development and code adoption. NEx will remain a priority for Kopczynski and the ACI team and will be a template for future ACI Centers of Excellence in other areas of industry need and interest.

CKC has won over 70 regional, national and international awards for engineering excellence. Kopczynski is a past president of the ACI Washington Chapter and the Seattle Chapter of the Structural Engineers Association of Washington.